Phoenix Rising

028

How rude, Zi-ning thought to herself, a frown appearing across her forehead. Why was he staring at her instead of concentrating on the performance? There was a foxy young lady at the centre of the hall swinging her hips seductively to the rhythm and here he was engaging in a staring battle instead. The competitive streak inside her won over and she chose not to avert her gaze—that would be tantamount to declaring defeat. If he dared to challenge her so brazenly with those dark eyes of his then she was more than capable of receiving it.

"Miss, would you like some more wine?" Shujin asked. "Miss?"

Zi-ning lost her concentration, blinking. "What is it?" she snapped, annoyed that Shujin's interruption had distracted her from her staring match.

"I was asking if you'd like a refill of the wine," Shujin answered, a little taken aback by her young mistress's terse tone. Had she said something wrong?

Zi-ning nodded, turning back towards the direction of the Shadow Lord. He was still looking at her and that tiny smirk toying on his lips made her want to march right over and rip that pretentious mask right off his face just so see what he really looked like underneath. He raised his goblet to her, as if to thank her for a fight well fought. Glowering, Zi-ning picked up the goblet that Shujin had just refilled, swallowing all the wine in one gulp. Her servant girl stared at the empty goblet in disbelief, before quickly pouring her another one.

Princess Sana's dance ended to rousing applause from the audience and she took another bow to the king with her palm pressed against her chest.

"The princess is certainly deserving of her title as the best dancer in the kingdom of Shon," the queen said to the king, smiling politely.

"Indeed!" the king agreed. "Princess, thank you for sharing such a wonderful performance with all of us here. It is unlike anything we have ever seen before. A true work of art." After having a glass too many, the king's cheeks were flushed red and his mood seemed even better than it had been before.

The ambassador from Shon stood up, walking forward to join the princess. He bowed to the king, saying, "Your Majesty, our king has asked me to bring a message to you. As Princess Sana has come of age, the king and Lord Rohan would like for her to seek a husband from your great kingdom of Duan, a gesture that they believe would convey our sincerity in ensuring the continued peace between our kingdoms."

No one looked surprised at this request—they had already seen it coming from the moment the princess had stood up. No kingdom would send their princess on a journey like this unless they did not intend for her to return home.

The king maintained a smile on his face, nodding his head as he listened to the ambassador's words. "I have never doubted King Romir's sincerity towards maintaining the peace, although his gesture is most appreciated. For your kingdom to send a princess all the way to our capital speaks volumes of the friendship we have. There is no reason for me to decline King Romir's goodwill."

Princess Sana's eyes tilted sideways towards Crown Prince Ru-quan, who was calmly sipping on his wine as if none of this concerned him.

Zi-ning had to cover her mouth with her handkerchief to hide her laughter when she saw how the faces of Sangya, Meiyan and so many of the other young ladies suddenly drained of all their colour. They all knew who the Shon princess had her eyes on and they didn't like it a single bit. When she turned her head, she caught the Shadow Lord looking at her again and the smile was immediately wiped off her face.

The man was unbelievably rude, she thought.

"It is our king's understanding that the several of your kingdom's princes are still unmarried, including the crown prince," the ambassador started, looking towards Ru-quan and Ru-an. What he said after that left everyone speechless, "but Princess Sana has always been free-spirited, so our king felt that perhaps the Shadow Lord would be a good match for her."

This decision evidently hadn't been conveyed to the princess because she immediately turned towards her ambassador with a look of shock in her eyes. "Caron, this was not what I was told," she hissed. "What is going on?"

The ambassador shook his head, willing her not to make a scene. "This is the king's decision," he said firmly.

What was this turn of events? Zi-ning's smile returned to her face once more as she looked across the hall at that insolent man. He seemed surprised with what the ambassador had said, having swivelled his head to look towards the front of the hall.

"Excuse me?" the king said, equally taken aback by what the ambassador had said.

A buzz had started going around the great hall as the guests began whispering about the latest development. The king of Shon hoped to marry the princess to the Shadow Lord and not one of the princes—no one could have seen that coming. Zi-ning could hear the sighs of relief coming from some of the girls, glad that the princess wouldn't be fighting with them over any of the princes. As outstanding as the Shadow Lord was, to many of these delicate flowers he was a fearsome and bloodthirsty presence that they would much rather stay away from. Besides, none of them were willing to follow him to the far-flung city of Anyang where the Du family was stationed.

"Our king requests that Princess Sana be married to the Shadow Lord, Your Majesty," the ambassador repeated himself loud and clear.

"About this matter..."

"I will not marry the princess," Zhenghuan interrupted, standing up from his seat.

A hushed silence fell across the great hall as everyone looked at the black figure who had just stood up. No one could tell what his expression was under that mask but they could feel the coldness emanating from him. One thought ran through everyone's minds at that moment—that the ambassador of Shon must have a death wish, to have put forth such a request.

The king's smile stiffened and his hands tensed on his lap. "Ambassador Caron, perhaps we can discuss this matter further? I'm sure we can—"

"Shadow Lord, what do you mean by that?" the ambassador interjected, staring at the man in black. "It is a great honour to be able to marry Princess Sana, considering she is of royal blood." The implication in his words were clear: Sana was a princess and the Shadow Lord was but a mere general, a subordinate to the crown, so he should be thankful that they were even considering him as a candidate.

"If it is that great an honour to marry the princess then perhaps someone else in this hall would like to do so," Zhenghuan replied, "but that man is not me." After he had said his piece, he sat back down in his chair, continuing to drink his wine like nothing had even happened.

Ambassador Caron was not someone who had a mild temper and his face had reddened like a ripe tomato when he heard Zhenghuan's harsh words. The man had no qualms about slapping them on the face, despite their elevated status as envoys to the kingdom. Before he could say anything though, the princess had intervened, her eyes flashing with anger as she looked upon the man with the mask.

"Am I some sort of item that can be passed from one person to the other so easily?" she said, her lilting voice resonating across the hall. She didn't want to marry the Shadow Lord, but her ego was unable to take it lying down. She was a proud princess of her kingdom and never before had she been shamed in this manner in front of so many people. "If I am willing to lower myself to your level, you should be grateful and giving thanks for the generosity, and not acting in this sort of rude, uncouth manner!"

"If rude and uncouth is not what you are looking for, Princess, then I suggest you look elsewhere," Zhenghuan said calmly.